Mariana Acosta
SVP, Global Virtual Production and On-Set Services
Technicolor | Originally from Mexico City, Mariana has called Los Angeles home for 14 years. A technologist, connector, entrepreneur, veteran pixel pusher, Variety magazine’s top 10 innovators, a finalist on the Women Startup Challenge in AI, and a software creative and business development leader.
During her years working at Foundry, she focused on VFX & XR post-production workflows and was the Head of Product Specialists. Most recently she co-founded a Technology company focused on developing tools for Virtual Production. Before her switch to tech, she worked as an on-set VFX supervisor & senior compositor and has over 16 years of experience in the motion picture industry. She is now the SVP of Global VP and On-Set services for Technicolor Creative Studios. |
Arvind Arumbakkam
Creative Technologist
Wacom | Arvind is a creative technologist at Wacom focusing on emerging Media & Entertainment workflows. Arvind and teamwork with innovators in the industry to push the boundaries of creative tools – with a focus on harmonizing the intersection of technology and artist experience. |
Orlando Avila-Garcia
Head of AI
ARQUIMEA Research Center | Dr. Orlando Avila García is the head of AI at Arquimea Research Center and co-founder at Volinga. He obtained his PhD at University of Hertfordshire, UK. With over 15 years of experience, he has contributed to numerous research and innovation projects across diverse domains, including banking systems engineering, online advertising, online fraud prevention, customer service, and robotics. In 2020, Dr. Avila García assumed leadership of the AI research team at Arquimea Research Center, where his primary focus lies in the cutting-edge field of Neural Radiance Fields (NeRF). He co-founded Volinga AI in 2023, aiming to bring the NeRF research to the market and drive its practical applications. |
Saraswathi "Vani" Balgam Buyyala
CEO
Dancing Atoms | Vani's passion for filmmaking and animation began at age 8 when her father set up an animation studio showcasing Indian stories to the world in 1985. Today, she carries on her father’s artistic vision through her studio, Dancing Atoms LLC. She is a self-taught filmmaker who started working in Bollywood films at just 16. |
Ander Bergstrom
Business Development Manager
StretchSense | Ander is a seasoned veteran of the games and feature film industry with over 20 years of experience in motion capture, VR, and animation. He has worked on numerous AAA games, including Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto, The Elder Scrolls, and animated feature films such as Happy Feet and Moana. He also owned and operated a motion capture studio in Seattle for six years.
Ander is passionate about using technology to create realistic and immersive experiences. He is particularly interested in the challenge of motion-capturing hands, which are complex and expressive systems. He is now the Head of Sales for StretchSense, a leading provider of hand-tracking technology.
In addition to his technical skills, Ander is also a gifted storyteller. He has a keen eye for detail and a strong understanding of human movement. This makes him a valuable asset to any team working on a motion capture project. |
Peter Blaskovic
Founder & CEO
Escape Motions | Peter Blaskovic is the founder and CEO of Escape Motions. He got his master's degree at the Faculty of Architecture, STU in Bratislava. His long-standing passion—connecting art with the world of code—started in the mid-90s on 16-bit machines when Peter was coding visual demos for Amiga computers. In 2003 Peter joined Cauldron, a game development company, where he worked as a lead animator for Activision game projects. His website with interactive artistic applets attracted millions of people and motivated him to establish his studio Escape Motions in 2012. The company and the software they developed got numerous renowned awards and nominations and are used by acclaimed studios including Sony Pictures Imageworks, Walt Disney, ILM, or Lucas Film. |
Dane Brehm
Production Technologist and DIT
Cintegral Technologies | Dane Brehm, a Production Technologist & Digital Imaging Technician has a long standing desire to stay at the forefront of creativity, technology, and workflow. His direct approach, sharing personality, and consideration for everyone on-set and in Post allows for a faster incorporation of new workflow techniques and solutions.
Dane balances his time between working on-set as a ICG DIT for ASC DPs; while running Cintegral.tech, a Production Technology + Workflow company that focuses on introducing and implementing high-performance enterprise NVMe SSD, meta-data capture, and RAID systems. Cintegral has supported over 120 productions since 2016 to meet modern 4K/6K/8K Studio and Streaming content demands for large format-multi-camera-VFX intensive cinematography. He has forged deep partnerships with OEMs to develop tools and software for the M&E space.
Dane is an ASC Technical Instructor, SMPTE and Local 600 member, as well as a participant in the ASC-MITC Advanced Data Management working group. He is a founding member of the DIT super group “DIT-WIT,” which comprises over 300 global members to discuss, share, develop, and execute the creative and technical needs of present and future productions. |
Pinar Seyhan Demirdag
Co-Founder, AI Director
Cuebric
| Pinar Seyhan Demirdag is an A.I. director, multidisciplinary creator, visionary, and an outspoken advocate for the conscious use of technology.
Pinar and her partner Gary Koepke co-founded Seyhan Lee, the world's first studio devoted to generative A.I., in 2020. The firm has become the hub for the entertainment industry’s smooth transition into generative A.I.. Seyhan Lee develops human-guided practical and thought-provoking creative A.I. solutions for the film, broadcast, and entertainment industries. At the core of the company's mission lies in developing and perfecting conscious use of technology for the immersive new world, and it's a mission of all of their projects to expand mindfulness and possibilities for the meaningful elation of humanity through technology. |
Tucker Downs
Color Scientist
Roe Visual | Tucker Downs is a Color Scientist and Research and Development Manager for ROE Visual. He’s been involved in multiple generations of LED technology ranging from multi-primary theatrical lighting and now the first generation of multi-primary LED video products coming to the market. Previously he worked for Megapixel VR and VER to develop color pipelines and calibration technology for LED processing. At ROE, his focus is on guiding the company and the industry towards a state of high-fidelity video for lighting purposes, in camera visual effects, and the viewer experience. |
Michal Fapso
Lead Developer
Escape Motions | Michal Fapso is the lead developer at Escape Motions. He earned his Ph.D. in speech processing from Brno University of Technology while working with the Speech@FIT research group. Michal is passionate about C++, Linux, debugging, forest protection, running, and spending his free time with his wife, Hanka, and their three sons. |
Alejandro Franceschi
Producer, Director, Technologist
| Alejandro Franceschi is an Emmy awarded producer, director, and technologist with two decades of experience in diverse fields such as startups, education, government, TV, studio features, and Fortune 500 tech companies. As a Lumiere awarded storyteller, Alejandro thrives in the realm of cutting-edge technologies like AR and VR, demonstrating expertise in fostering creative partnerships with agencies, vendors, and project management while leading and motivating teams. They have established themselves as a trusted representative for brands, products, design, and vision, delivering high-quality narrative content that achieves measurable business goals promptly and within budget, in charming and unexpected ways. For a comprehensive work history, please visit their LinkedIn profile. |
Koina Freeman
Unreal Authorized Training Partner | After her first film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, Koina spent several years as a director for FOX America’s Most Wanted. Later, she sold a TV movie to Fox, and joined the faculty at Laney College where she founded the XR Lab, and currently serves as the Virtual Production Faculty Lead.
Koina holds a Masters in Technical Design for Theater, has won a few film and design awards, apprenticed with Disney’s Imagineering Live Entertainment, and has mentored Tribeca filmmakers for Epic Games on how to use the Unreal Engine for Pre-vis, and Virtual Production.
When she is not teaching Unreal to filmmakers, or leading the A.I. in Virtual Production working group for the Entertainment Technology Center, Koina consults industry stakeholders on using A.I. tools to support creative pipelines.
As an Epic Games, Animation and Virtual Production Fellow Koina hopes to leverage new technologies and filmmaking to engage the future of storytelling. |
Rick Grandy
Principal Solutions Architect
NVIDIA | Rick Grandy is a Principal Solutions Architect at NVIDIA focused on graphics and machine learning for the Gaming, Advertising and Media & Entertainment industries. Rick has nearly 3 decades of experience in visual effects and animation with industry leaders Industrial Light and Magic, Sony Pictures Imageworks, Digital Domain, Bad Robot, and others. His work initially centered on the development of digital characters and animation tools. Over time it grew to cover the VFX pipeline end-to-end including real-time previsualization, asset management, post-production, and ingestion/delivery systems. At NVIDIA, Rick has spent the past 5 years combining his experience with the latest in production technology and advanced research to help our customers build the solutions necessary to perform magic on the screen. |
Niall Hendry
VP, Partnership
Move.ai | Niall Hendry is VP of Partnerships at Move.ai. Niall is a specialist in deploying & productising AI-powered real-time and post production technologies for Media, Entertainment & Sport. |
Tim Kafka
Head, Creative Operations
The Mill | Tim Kafka is the Head of Creative Operations for the Mill in LA. In this role, he helps guide the Mill’s long term strategies for workflows and technology. He has a passion for improving the tools and methods that VFX Artists use to enable them to push the limits of what’s possible on an advertising timeline. And his goal is to give artists the technology they need to do their best work while maintaining their quality of life.
After graduating from USC, Tim Kafka started his post production career working in music and sound and held a variety of industry roles before finding a home at MPC for 11 years. While at MPC, he discovered his passion for CG and developed a reputation for photoreal lookdev and lighting. As a CG Supervisor, he worked with many notable directors and brands and is a VES award nominee. He served as MPC’s Head of 3D before transitioning to the Mill in 2022. |
Henrique "Koby" Kobylko
Director, OSVP
Fuse Technical Group
| Henrique Kobylko, also known as Koby, is the Director of On-Set Virtual Production for Fuse Technical Group. With a deep passion for virtual production, Koby specializes in developing efficient on-set workflows utilizing cutting-edge technology and digital tools to bring other creators' visions to life. His expertise in in-camera VFX and LED volumes makes him a valuable asset in guiding and assisting other creators. Koby recognizes the importance of a dedicated team in creating great products and strives to contribute to the growth and advancement of the art of virtual production in the film industry. |
Michael McKenna
CEO
Final Pixel | As CEO at Final Pixel, Michael holds the vision of how Virtual Production will revolutionise filmmaking. On productions he leads as Director of Virtual Production, overseeing the VAD and OSVP for Film, TV and Advertising clients. He is a leader, an innovator and a disruptor, operating at a unique intersection in technology, creativity and business to produce world class content. |
Kevin Miller
Instructor / Tech Artist
Epic | Kevin Miller is an Epic Games Instructor with over two decades of production experience in the media & entertainment, creative development, graphic design, and education fields.
Kevin is primarily responsible for the Unreal Engine client training offerings in Sequencer and shares responsibility for the ICVFX, Animation, Rendering, and Broadcast curriculum with several other Epic Games Instructors. |
c. Craig Patterson
Writer and Filmmaker | c. Craig is a filmmaker whose work has received distinctions from The Blacklist, Sundance Screenwriters Lab, Sundance Episodic Lab, Hillman Grad’s Rising Voices, the Nicholl Fellowship, and the Emerging Filmmaker Showcase at Cannes Film Festival’s American Pavilion. His latest film, FATHEAD, is the recipient of the Innovation in Technology grant from the University of Southern California (USC), and an NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Short Form (Live-Action). c. Craig has also produced projects for Carnegie Hall, directed Paramount+’s critically acclaimed one-hour comedy special for Roy Wood Jr, ‘Imperfect Messenger,’ and is a past recipient of the George Lucas Family Scholarship. |
Alex Porter
CEO
Mod Tech Labs | Alex Porter is the CEO of Mod Tech Labs, an AI-powered automated software making it easy to playback high quality content faster. Starting with a background in physical and digital design while earning a degree in Interior Design and Construction Technology, her focus over the last decade has been on powering visual experiences using emerging technologies— including AI, XR, IoT, and beyond. She is a Forbes NEXT 1000 Honoree, an Intel Top Innovator, and part of NVIDIA Inception. She is an advocate for technologists and continues to work with groups including CTA, Real-time Society, SMPTE, and others to shape the industry and educate on the benefits of technology from mentorship to standards. |
Tim Porter
CTO
Mod Tech Labs | Timothy Porter is CTO of Mod Tech Labs leading the company in creating groundbreaking AI-powered technology to usher in the future of digital content. After graduating from Full Sail University, Tim began his career as an animation artist and, over two decades, expanded into more highly technical developer roles at leading game and production studios. He worked as a Pipeline Technical Director at Sony Picture Imageworks and a Technical Artist at Two Bit Circus, Gameloft, and GameHouse. Using his deep knowledge of technology and entertainment paradigms to automate the slow technical tasks in production.He has been recognized for Technology Leadership, Innovation and more by organizations including CTA, Intel, and NVIDIA as well as leading the way for institutions, lawmakers and technologists to help standardize technology practices across industries and applications. |
Fernando Rivas-Manzaneque
Co-Founder
Volinga | Fernando Rivas-Manzaneque, a co-founder of Volinga, has been working for 3 years in the intersection between neural rendering and filmmaking. With a Bachelor's and Master's degree in electrical engineering, he has dedicated the the last years to conducting extensive research on Neural Radiance Fields (NeRF) at Arquimea Research Center. His contributions have been recognized by renowned conferences such as CVPR, where he has published his work.
In addition to his research endeavors, Fernando is currently pursuing a PhD, further solidifying his expertise in the field. Recently, he established Volinga.ai with the vision of applying the outcomes of his research to the media and entertainment industry, ensuring that his findings have a tangible impact on the field. At Volinga, he led the developments for Unreal Engine and RenderStream plugins for NeRF, being the first company to bring NeRF into Virtual Production. |
Jason Shugart
Solutions Architect
NVIDIA
| Jason Schugardt is a Solutions Architect for NVIDIA helping customers connect to the best solutions at NVIDIA. With over 25 years of experience in the Visual Effects industry he has worked on numerous blockbuster films, including the Academy Award-winning The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Disney's The Sorcerer's Apprentice, Peter Jackson's King Kong, Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2, and Steven Spielberg's Minority Report, and many others. Driven by his passion for exploring cutting-edge technology, he's led innovative VR and AR projects, pushing the boundaries of technology in story telling. At NVIDIA, Jason enjoys leveraging his deep expertise to help clients harness the power of generative AI and Neural Radiance Fields (NeRFs). |
Rob Sloan
CEO / CTO
Orbis Tabula | Rob Sloan is the CEO of Orbis Tabula, a business and technical R&D consultancy. At Orbis, Rob works with clients to render physical and imagined locations as adaptable virtual worlds for Media & Entertainment projects. Rob also has over a decade of experience teaching advanced technical filmmaking concepts as a Graduate Professor at Full Sail University. As both an established filmmaker and lecturer, Rob has evangelized innovative technologies like digital cinema workflows, ICVFX Virtual Production, and Generative AI for many years. |
Sean Spitzer
Sr Instructor / Master Mentor Artist for VP
Epic | Sean Spitzer is one of Unreal Enterprise's Senior Instructor/ Master Mentor Artists for VP at Epic Games. Sean has been in the games and media industry for 26 years, working in both console, PC and social gaming verticals as well as commercial TV. He has an extensive background in education teaching Arts and Animation and Game Art and Design related topics at both the Academy of Art University and The Art Institute of California. He also not too long ago finished working on Netflix's Love Death and Robots Season 3’s short, Vaulted Halls:Entombed helping on lighting and shader work. |
Ely Stacy
Technical Solutions Lead
disguise | Ely Stacy is a skilled member of disguise's Technical Solutions team for nearly three years, focusing on Virtual Production and XR stages integration, operator training, and overcoming complex challenges in tech solutions. With the rapidly evolving technology and entertainment landscape, Ely's excitement lies in pushing boundaries to deliver bigger and better experiences. |
Matt Tancik
PhD Graduate
Luma AI
| Matt Tancik is PhD graduate from UC Berkeley where he was advised by Ren Ng and Angjoo Kanazawa. He received his bachelor’s degree in CS and physics at MIT. He received a master’s degree on imaging under the advisement of Ramesh Raskar at MIT. His research lies at the intersection of machine learning and graphics. He helped develop Neural Radiance Fields and is now working at Luma AI with the goal of making these technologies widely accessible. |
Thomas True
Sr. Applied Engineer
NVIDIA | Thomas True is a Senior Applied Engineer for Professional Video and Image Processing in NVIDIA’s Enterprise Solutions Group. In this role he works at the intersection of video I/O and the GPU where he focuses on the integration of GPU and networking technologies into broadcast, video and film applications ranging from pre-visualization to post production and live to air. Prior to joining NVIDIA, Tom was an Applications Engineer at SGI. Thomas has a M.S. degree in Computer Science from the Graphics Lab at Brown University and a B.S. Degree from the Rochester Institute of Technology. |
Erik Weaver
Director, Adaptive & Virtual Production
ETC | Erik Weaver is a specialist focused on the intersection of cloud and the Media and Entertainment industry. He currently directs ETC’s Adaptive and Virtual Production project that encompasses many aspects of the cloud, including transport, security, metadata, long-term storage, and formation of an agnostic framework that unites key vendors and studios.
Weaver has fostered and achieved many accomplishments in the M&E market including executive producer on several ETC R&D short film projects: "The Suitcase," which utilized HDR, cloud-based workflows, and live 360, debuted at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival and earned the CAA People's Choice Award; the Emmy-nominated, "Wonder Buffalo", which employed volumetric capture, photogrammetry, ambonisic sound and interactivity, and screened in competition at SXSW Interactive Film Festival; “Ripple Effect" and its white paper that focused on ICVFX and was highlighted by the VFX society; and most recently, “Fathead”, nominated for an NAACP Image award.
Weaver drives the ICVFX programming for Infinity Festival, co-chairs the SMPTE RIS on in-camera VFX, serves on the ASC Technology Council and is co-chair of the ETC Virtual Production Working Group. He previously chaired NAB’s “Next Generation Media Technologies” Conference 2014-2017, as well as chaired and initiated vNAB 2015-2019 (later rebranded as the ongoing vETC). |
